WSR: Weight 298.8 - Weight Left To Lose 128.8

Height: 5'7"
Age: 40

Starting Weight: 370 lbs
Goal Weight: 170 lbs

Current Weight: 298.8 lbs
Pounds Lost: 71.2 lbs
Pounds Left To Lose: 128.8 lbs

Percent Of Weight Lost: 19.24%
Percent Of Way To Goal: 35.60%

Starting BMI: 57.9
Current BMI: 46.8
BMI Lost: 11.1

I started out the week at 301.8 pounds and achieved a loss of 3.0 pounds.

A 3 pound loss in the same week as my time of the month isn't too shabby. I'll take it.

I don't plan on making any adjustments this week. What I have been doing thus far seems to be working as I had hoped. I did lose a daily Weight Watchers point with my new weight range, but seeing as I rarely eat the entire set of points I don't really feel that loss at all.

After I lose another 3.8 pounds I will have exactly 125 pounds left to go. That is 5 25 pound units and that suits my left brain self very nicely. Prior to breaking the 300 pound barrier, that was my only goal - getting below 300. Now that I have met that goal, I am going to be thinking in terms of losing sets of 25 pounds. Breaking down the larger number into smaller units really helps keep me from feeling overwhelmed by the amount of weight I have to lose.

As PastaQueen said during her trip down the scale, onward and downward!

299.2

Monday is the official weekly stats reporting day, but today is a monumental today in this weight loss journey.

Today is the day that I am officially under 300 pounds for the first time in over a decade!

Height: 5'7"
Age: 40

Starting Weight: 370 lbs
Goal Weight: 170 lbs

Current Weight: 299.2 lbs
Pounds Lost: 70.8 lbs
Pounds Left To Lose: 129.2 lbs

Percent Of Weight Lost: 19.14%
Percent Of Way To Goal: 35.40%

Starting BMI: 57.9
Current BMI: 46.9
BMI Lost: 11.0

It was tough going for most of this week because I could not understand the refusal of the scale to budge when I am doing everything right. I've had a pretty good plan to avoid stalls and plateaus because I have my cheat meals on the weekend in which I eat all of the WW points that I am supposed to eat for my weight range.

But on Thursday it became really apparent why the scale wasn't moving. It was that time of the month. I didn't even see it coming because with the new vegetarian diet and exercise, my cramps are now almost non-existent.

Now though? I am on top of the freaking world. I no longer possess a weight that starts with the number 3. What an incredible feeling!

Things To Do: Eat!

Yesterday, I somehow only wound up eating 860 calories and I only ate 1027 on Monday. That is not good. I know I must eat at least 1200 calories per day to avoid the dreaded starvation mode in which I just won't lose weight at all because my body will greedily hang on to every bit of calories that I do give it. I've been averaging around 21-23 points on Weight Watchers for the past 6 weeks or so. I am currently allotted 35 points a day, but I have been getting by on a lot less.

I think in my zeal to get to a sub-300 number on the scale I have been cutting back too much and it is starting to affect me. This morning on the bus I was feeling quite faint and a little nauseous. I thought I was going to pass out. I've learned my lesson.

The scale dipped .4 pounds this morning, but I know if I were eating enough I would have lost more this week and seen something in the 297-299 range instead of hanging on around 301.

So I am eating more today. I am going to eat around 1500 calories (30 WW points) to get my body back to a normal blood sugar level. I want to lose weight, but I also want to be healthy while doing it. Making myself sick is not on the agenda.

Moments of Bravado: Week Ending 11.02.08

I read a post somewhere last month in which Jillian Michaels, of Biggest Loser fame, gave some tips for losing weight. The thing that stood out for me the most was what she said about willpower:

Losing weight is not about willpower - it's about moments of bravado, like the
moment when you ask your waiter to take the bread away from the table right
away.

I quickly printed that quote out and taped it to the top of my computer monitor at work. I read it every day, several times a day. It really did speak to me on the most basic level. Willpower is usually seen as this thing we have or we don't have and that viewpoint can really affect our success or failure in shedding the pounds. So what if it isn't willpower that we need, but it is really moments of bravado to spur us on in times we are most challenged or want to go to the next level?

This past week I had a few moments of bravado that I want to share:

• On Halloween Friday I was horrified when I turned around and noticed a big bag of candy on my desk. This sweet, little package was courtesy of HR. Now the sentiment was nice, but the reality of what that little bag of goodness could do to me was quite ghastly. So, I promptly threw it over the cube wall to my co-worker (knocking over her tea cup in the process) and told her to take it home to her husband and son. She quite graciously forgave my moment of craziness and relieved me of the many calories and grams of sugar that my body does not need and I really don't want at this point.



• On Saturday I thought I would experiment a little bit. I normally take the bus while running errands and slip in pockets of walking throughout the day. However, this Saturday I determined that if my destination was 3 miles away and under that I would walk instead. It was a giant success. I clocked in at walking 8.26 miles by the end of the day. What did this tell me? My fitness level is through the roof and I can do anything I set my mind too.

In both of these situations I wasn't bracing myself to resist temptation or attempt something I've never done before. I chose at those moments to take the brave action instead of the easy one. And these moments of bravado brought me out of last week healthier and fitter than when I entered it.

So ask yourself, what moments of bravado have you undertaken? What action did you take to ensure your success in reaching your goal?

WSR: Weight 301.8 - Weight Left To Lose 131.8

Height: 5'7"
Age: 40

Starting Weight: 370 lbs
Goal Weight: 170 lbs

Current Weight: 301.8 lbs
Pounds Lost: 68.2 lbs
Pounds Left To Lose: 131.8 lbs

Percent Weight Lost: 18.43%

Starting BMI: 57.9
Current BMI: 47.3
BMI Lost: 10.6

I started out the week at 306.8 pounds and achieved a loss of 5.0 pounds.

Two weeks ago I switched to eating fruit and/or popcorn for dinner and cut out potatoes from my meals on the weekends. These changes allowed me to lose 5.2 pounds. I am happy to see that it carried over into last week as well giving me another 5 pound loss.

This week, however, I plan to eliminate my "cheat" meal on Sunday. I feel like I no longer need it. I receive enough satisfaction from the one I eat on Saturday. As I lose weight it will be important to keep making adjustments because my smaller size won't require the same diet plan.

Taking It To The Next Level

The good news is that I am 1.8 pounds away from dropping a total of 70 pounds and being under 300 pounds for the first time in about 7 years.

The bad news is that my burn meter keeps going down on Calorie Count. I've lost 30 calories this week alone. This means I have to move more to lose the excess weight.

But I have a plan to take my exercise to the next level. I'm getting a bike!

I've been walking 2+ miles every week night along with 5+ miles each Saturday since the beginning of September. But I am finding that this routine has gotten far too easy and I think I need to do more to up my game. So, I will be scouring craigslist and The Greensheet for a good used bike to use as my main source of transportation. So long METRO. Hello pedal power! This is truly exciting. I will not only burn more calories per hour but I will be doubling the amount of exercise I get each day because I will be biking to and from work.

Who is this woman that is excited about exercise? I don't recognize her at all. But you know what? I think I like her!

Is This Me?

As of today, October 28th, 2008:

• I have lost a total of 64.8 pounds.



• I am 1.2 pounds away from being one third of the way through losing the total amount of weight I want to lose. Update: I hit the mark today (10.29.08). One third of the total amount of weight I wanted to lose is gone!



• I am 5.2 pounds away from breaking the 300 pound barrier - heading downward on the scale instead of upward.



• I am 35.2 pounds away from losing a total of 100 pounds.

Is this me?

Seriously! Is this me? I am finding myself feeling completely overwhelmed that I have lost this much weight. I am successfully dieting and getting healthy for the first time in my entire life. I am thrilled beyond belief, but I am also feeling a bit of terror as well. It is hard to explain this to people because there should be no downside to losing weight, should there? I am finally doing the one thing I have wanted to do since I began to pack on the pounds back in my early 20s. I am finally conquering the one thing that has crippled me emotionally and physically for half of my lifetime.

So, why is there so much anxiety involved? I assume it involves losing the wall of fat that has kept me safe for so long. There aren't a whole lot of choices to be made when you begin to resemble a large farm animal except deciding whether to wolf down pizza, burgers or tacos each night. But now the wall of fat is crumbling and a new, thinner, healthier version of me is emerging. I am really kind of scared of the bright lights and all of the options that are suddenly being thrust upon me. These things are scary! I might have to actively engage in my own life instead of merely being a bystander in others' lives. How do I do that? How do I become the woman I have always wanted to be, but couldn't because of the prison I've been stuck in for my entire adult life? I've lived on the outskirts of society, never daring to stake my own place in this world. Now? I've got things to figure out. The whole world is opening up to me in ways that I have never had to face before. It is also happening a whole lot sooner than I even anticipated when I've dreamed of what I would do IF I ever lost weight.

See? I am having a bit of a panic just typing this post while thinking about all of it.

How do I do this thing called life now?

WSR: Weight 306.8 - Weight Left To Lose 136.8

Height: 5'7"
Age: 40

Starting Weight: 370 lbs
Goal Weight: 170 lbs

Current Weight: 306.8 lbs
Pounds Lost: 63.2 lbs
Pounds Left To Lose: 136.8 lbs

Percent Weight Lost: 17.08%

Starting BMI: 57.9
Current BMI: 48.0
BMI Lost: 9.9

I started out the week at 312 pounds and achieved a loss of 5.2 pounds.

I've been steadily losing 2-3 pounds per week, but I made two adjustments this week:

1. I started eating fruit and/or popcorn for dinner instead of a full meal of vegetables and grains or pasta. I found that it was too much for me that late at night.


2. On the weekends I allow myself to eat one really good meal each day (within reason) that uses up all of my allotted WW points. This allows me to "cheat" without really cheating at all. But over time, I have slowly cut that meal down to match my current appetite. This week I cut out the normal side order of potatoes I usually eat. I didn't miss them at all.

Those two changes really made a difference in my rate of loss. I think I will keep them both up to see if I can match that rate again this week.

WSR Intro: The Current State Of My Weight

I am stealing PastaQueen’s model of reporting stats because she is such an inspiration to me in this endeavor. She’s trod the path and come out on the other side half her size. Imitation is the sincerest yada, yada, yada. She should be extremely flattered.

Height: 5'7"
Age: 40

Starting Weight: 370 lbs
Goal Weight: 170 lbs

Current Weight: 308 lbs
Pounds Lost: 62 lbs
Pounds Left To Lose: 138 lbs

Percent Weight Lost: 16.8%

Starting BMI: 57.9
Current BMI: 48.2
BMI Lost: 9.7

As you can see I am nearly one-third of the way to my goal weight. That is pretty darned successful, right?

The single most important thing that I have learned in this process is that I simply have to do what I can do today. If I can do that, then I will reach my goal. Focusing on today is a far less daunting task than facing the prospect of shedding 200 excess pounds.

And that in a nutshell is where I currently am at in this process. I couldn’t be more proud of myself. And quite frankly I am also completely stunned at what I’ve achieved so far. It is mind boggling that this former sedentary couch potato who constantly sucked down mountains of high fat, sugar laden foods is now 62 pounds lighter and a whole lot fitter than she was at the start of this year.

Now that I know that the train has officially left the station and is chugging down those tracks slowly and surely towards the destination I feel confident that blogging this journey is the right thing to do. I want a record of this to really see what I think and feel every step of the way.

Official weekly stats reporting will be on Monday. So, I may have even more of a loss to officially report in a few days. Stay tuned!

My Plan

So, what is different now? What makes THIS attempt so much different than the 813 (more or less) other times I have tried to lose the weight, get healthy and rid myself of this prison of blubber I've been trapped inside of for far too long?

Well there are actually quite a few things that are different.

These are the things that have had the biggest impact on getting this thing done this time:

• My new plan involves taking everything I've ever done before and doing the exact opposite. Because what I've done before just did not work. So if I do that which is diametrically opposed to what did not work then I should achieve success, right?



• I have realized that I can never eat like a normal human being again. I am not normal. I am someone that takes their love for foods and all the comforts that they bring to the absolute worst extremes. So, I cannot snack. I cannot indulge in just a little of this or a little of that. I have used up all of my snacking points. I have to start paying down the debt that has turned my body into something resembling a big, lumpy sack of cement that has no form or shape to identify me as an adult woman in the prime of her life. I had to break up with Ben & Jerry's. I had to tell The Burger King goodbye. Those cute little 100-calorie snack packs that seem so reasonable? I had to cut them loose. And I then cancelled all of my appointments with Dr. Pepper. It wasn't them. It was me. I had to move on. It was really hard to walk away. It was painfully sad and many tears were shed; but ending those relationships were really for the best. I am not on a diet that has an end date. I am making substantial changes in how I eat for life.



• A truly startling change is that I am now going on 4 weeks as a vegetarian. Me, the gal whose favorite meal in her life involved a medium-rare steak fresh off the grill, has given up all meat and eggs. And you know what? I feel great! I have never felt so good in all of my life. I feel less sluggish and all of the aches and pains I used to have are gone. I still eat dairy. I'm not choosing a vegan diet; I am just cutting out foods that involve ending a life to satiate my appetite. After giving up half and half in my morning coffee, I refuse to give up my skim milk too. And my morning yogurt is the only thing that helps me to get my daily cup of Fiber One down. But going meat-less and egg-less is a place to which my change in diet has naturally evolved.



• And the biggest change? This is the one that makes me know that this time is going to be the last time. I have started to exercise. I don't mean I do a few sit ups and count walking to the bus stop as a workout regimen. I mean that I have a real daily routine. I walk every single day except for Sunday. God rests on the seventh day; and if He gets a day off then I should get a day off too. I walk over 2 miles every night Monday through Friday and on Saturday I get even more mileage in. I have done this routine for about 6 weeks now and it has really paid off in ways I never imagined. All of those folks that tell you to exercise along with diet? They were right. It works! My body is shifting and I can see it developing some semblance of a real shape. And next month stage two of my exercise plan kicks in and that involves ditching my bus card to commute by bike. I plan on purchasing a bike and using that as my main source of transportation to and from work each and every day during the work week. I am already pretty excited about making this change because it burns more calories than walking and I expect to see even bigger changes in my body and my fitness level.

So that is how THIS time, I am going to do this incredibly hard thing. I’ve already started to do it and had great success thus far. The difference is that this time I know I’ve got this. I know that a new slimmer, healthier me is on the horizon. I’ve never truly had that feeling before. I’ve had hope with a side of finger crossing to spur me on; but I have never had that feeling deep down that this time is the time that I succeed. How big of a success have I achieved so far? Read on.